A man has been struck with a Taser and arrested following an armed siege in which he apparently took his two-year-old twin daughters hostage at a flat in Oxfordshire.

Police were called to the home in Kidlington, just north of Oxford, in the early hours of Tuesday morning after reports that an armed man had seized the girls. Thames Valley police said they believed the 38-year-old was the girls' estranged father, who did not live at the address. Police were called by the twins' mother, who had managed to flee.

Armed officers surrounded the property and sealed off the road, keeping a wide cordon around the address, reported to be a one-bedroom flat. Officers at the scene maintained contact with the man inside, describing the situation as a "domestic firearms incident". They said, however, that there was no indication at any point that the man wished to harm the children.

At about 9.45am, he allowed one of the girls to be freed and reporters at the scene saw the other girl being taken away about three hours later by armed officers wearing helmets and carrying shields. Soon afterwards, police confirmed both girls were safe but that the man remained inside the property.

Later, police said the incident was over: "The 38-year-old man inside the property in Morton Avenue was detained by officers at the scene at 3.37pm after he exited the property. Officers did deploy and discharge a Taser device in order to gain the man's compliance. He has now been taken into custody."

Superintendent Chris Bunt told the Oxford Mail: "At approximately 3.40am this morning, we received a call from a female that had managed to flee from the address, reporting that her estranged partner was still currently in the address with two young two-year-old girls."